Revolver Rants: Czech Out APF’s R1 Wheel Guns

As you may not know (but my friends definitely do), I’m a revolver fan. I’ve written about wheel-guns for a number of publications, and I proudly let my six-shot freak flag fly. So, when I stumbled across the American Precision Firearms booth at the 2024 NSSF Range-Retailer Business Expo, my revolver Spidey senses begain to tingle.

Among the clutter of fancy looking race gun wonder-nines and nifty double-barreled 1911s, there was a three-inch fixed sight stainless-steel revolver.

Be still my beating heart. I immediately moved to fondle the piece. And my heart went from beating wildly, to wanting to jump out of my chest like a Xenomorph from Aliens when I saw, inscribed on its shiny barrel, the wonderful numbers “357.”

Not only was it a revolver in my favorite layout, but it was chambered in my favorite revolver cartridge…the ever so amazing .357 Magnum, created by the minds of Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. Wesson.

I was in heaven as my wallet began screaming in agony. Another three-inch stainless .357 Magnum to add to the collection. But how exactly do I get my grubby Florida Man hands on such a thing? The NSSF show isn’t a place to buy, so I asked the fine folks of American Precision Arms if I could borrow their revolvers. They said sure, give us a FFL and we’ll ship ’em.

Before we dive deeply into the guns, a little about American Precision Firearms. They’re a small operation out of my hometown of Miami. The one with the beaches, the sunshine, the Cuban food, and Don Johnson driving a 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder.

But what really caught my interest in the company is that the owners aren’t from south Florida. They’re actually from Italy. A father and son team really, the old man was in the Italian armed forces and liked shooting. So did junior. And when they moved to the US, they kept that tradition going and eventually founded APF.

You can’t get more classically American than that. Immigrants move to Miami with a passion for capitalism and shooting. Then they start a gun import company and bring over some fine pieces from the old country. I love stories like that. It’s truly the American dream. Plus, they have this at their front entrance.

But back to the guns. APF imports fine products from Europe and one of those is the Czech-made Afla-Proj series of revolvers. CzechPoint previously imported Afla-Proj’s earlier Holek line of revolvers. Those were .38 Special models made with a light alloy frame and a cast instead of a forged steel barrel. They were economical and affordable, but they didn’t sell well.

The line of guns APF is importing, though, is Alfa-Proj’s steel series, their premium line of revolvers. These are made with fully forged carbon steel and stainless steel frames and barrels. In fact, it’s reported that the barrels are made by Lothar Walther in Germany for assembly in Brno, Czech Republic.

What guns did APF send me? I got my sweaty Florida Man hands on the hot-to-trot stainless three-inch R1 Model 3530 along with a the six-inch blued R1 Model 3561 with adjustable sights.

When I opened the box, both guns were wore a nice set of wooden stocks, but in the box was also one rubber grip. That’s a nice option and I’ll get into that later on.

The three-inch R-1 Model 3530 reminds me very much of a Smith & Wesson K-Frame, specifically a Model 65. In fact, the three-inch R1 its in my leather K-Frame holsters.

Plus, my HKS Model 10 speed-loaders work perfectly too. And there’s no damned lawyer-lock.

A lock-free stainless-steel K-Frame-sized three-inch .357 revolver…what more can one ask for? Now about recessed cylinders> Oh wait…the R-1 Model 3530 has that. 

But wait…the gun has one more nice thing hidden in its design. You can adjust the trigger without having to take the side plate off and swap out springs.

With that ability adjust the trigger, I got the pull weight down to about 11.5 lbs. which, for double action, is still a bit heavy, but not awful. Also, the trigger face is serrated as we’re seeing on current production Colt Pythons. But the trigger itself is rounded off, unlike the current production Colt Pythons.

The ejector rod is rounded and of proper length and doesn’t stab the hand at all when doing a forceful cartridge dump.

All in all, the R-1 Model 3530 won me over. I really like it.

The blued six-inch R-1 Model 3561 reminds me very much of a cross between a S&W Model 586 and a Model 19. Being that it’s the same frame size as the thee-inch R-1, it’s a K-Frame at heart. With a full-length lug six-inch barrel, it balances like a S&W L-Frame or a Colt Python which is very beneficial when shooting full-power magnum loads.

As on the three-inch R-1, the target crown is nicely done. The six-inch model’s front sight, with its orange insert, makes target shooting a breeze.

The rear sight again reminds me of a S&W or 1970s-era Colt Python. It is windage adjustable and has some fine serration cut into the windage drum to reduce glare.

The barrel is also machined along its length for glare reduction.

 

The bluing and polishing will seem slightly dull compared to the finishes of old, but for today’s market, it’s not bad (you can curse the EPA and their European counterparts for what they’ve done to traditional bluing processes).

On both R-1 guns, the cylinder release latch is absolutely fantastic. It’s a push-forward Smith-style button that’s nicely shaped and doesn’t get in the way of HKS speed-loaders.

There are traditional low-profile fixed front and rear sights on the model 3530, but that isn’t a negative. The gun is very viable as a self-defense carry gun and is very accurate at bad-guy distances.

Let’s get to how the guns shoot. If you want, you can watch me punch paper.

I took both guns out to my local public range for a lot more rounds down range. The three-inch model was, of course, my favorite.

With 125 grain Remington, it has some bite to go with its bark. You can see it here in this series of photos.

While somewhat of a handful with 125 grain Remington loads, the three-inch R-1 is still very controllable for follow-up shots. And shooting .38 Special +P is like the old US Treasury loads. The gun tames them really well. A nice added bonus is the fact that the guns have thick forcing cones. You won’t have to worry about them as you did with the pre-lock Smith & Wesson K-frames.

The six-inch Model 3561 is just a pleasure to shoot, with either .38 Special or .357 Magnum loads.

There’s little to no recoil due to the barrel length and full lug. At seven yards, it was like I was just reaching out and touching the target without any effort. The sights give me a crisp sight picture and the trigger is beautifully clean and smooth in single action.

Again, from both outings with these guns. I enjoyed how they shot and I really like them both. But let’s get to the negatives. Yes, every gun has its negatives. The wooden stocks, while finely crafted and nicely fitted, interfere with the use of speed-loaders and ejection.

Remember when I said the rubber stocks are a nice option? One of the reasons for that, aside from liking rubber stocks in Florida’s humidity, is that they’re slimmer than the wood stocks and work well with the speed-loaders.

Another issue is the rear sight on the three-inch R-1 Model 3530 and it’s one a lot of stainless fixed-sight revolvers have. There’s a glare issue when shooting in bright sunlight. It’s not terrible, but it’s there.

I get around this by applying a little bit of red nail-polish to the front sight. It helps it stand out. I’ll eventually do that to the Model 3530. Other than those two gripes, I’ve found no fault with either gun.

Pricewise, you’re paying more than you would for a comparable Ruger or a Smith. APF would argue that you’re getting European quality craftsmanship.

Compared to other European made revolvers (think Manurhin or Korth) APF’s Czech revolvers are a steal.

As something of a revolver connoisseur, these guns remind me of the old-school craftsmanship I’d see in something like my Smith & Wesson Model 19 or a Colt Python. No chatter marks, no two-piece barrels, no MIM parts, and no lawyer-locks.

You just aren’t seeing this level of quality coming out of Springfield or New Haven these days, but you’re seeing it coming out of Brno.

If you want something different, classy, and well built, check out American Precision Firearms and the guns they’re offering. The APF R1 revolvers have won me over. Now, I just have to figure out how to convince the wife we’ll be eating ramen for a week or two so I can buy the Model 3530.

 

Luis Valdes is a former law enforcement officer and detective, and is currently the Florida State Director, Outreach Director of Puerto Rico & US Virgin Islands, and National Spokesman for Gun Owners of America. You can follow Luis on X via @RealFLGunLobby.